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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Be Great. Serve

When I graduated from Northland Baptist Bible College now known as Northland University many years ago, each graduate was handed a towel that says "Be Great, Serve". Northland pushed service from day one so the towel was a reminder for each graduate as we left the teaching, preaching, and leadership that we had daily. For years, this towel was laid out in my home as a reminder of what my life should be. Quite a few years ago, though, I packed it away because it just didn't have a place. Recently, though, it has come back as my almamater when through some shaky days and some drastic changes. I was reminded of what I was taught and what I loved about my time at the school. Now, I'm proud to say, that my brother, Ken, is on the board of the school and through him I see great potential for the school to impact so many lives in the coming years.

Back to the towel. Why did I pull it back out? In the midst of a not so fun day at home with the kids, I was ready to "throw in the towel" as a little voice spoke in the back of my mind saying, "Jackie, be great. Serve. Who are you to serve right now". Talk about conviction?? Wow. I looked at those two little faces and realized that I needed to serve my kids. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that I am to be their servant to do their every wish and command but, rather, I am there to serve them.

I then went digging and found this towel and set it in a prominent space in my dining room where I walk by it every day, all day long. I added a photo of my boys (I've actually put a 5x7 photo of them in place of the 8x10) as a constant reminder of who I am to serve in this season of life. As I've changed my focus I've found that my days are easier; on the days that aren't, I take a lot of deep breaths and say to myself, "Be great. Serve, Jackie, that's all" :-)

About Me

I am a wife and mother - and a stay at home mom. I have two boys who are 4 and 5 and was asked "What do you do?" and my response was . .. nothing? I'm unemployed? I stay at home? I'm a mom? At which time I realized . . .I'm "Unworking". I'm "just" a mom who doesn't work; what an understandment!

Family

My Little Fam

My husband Darryl and I have been married for 12 years and have known each other for . . 13 years. We met on-line through a site called Christian Matchmaker.com on Oct. 31, 2000, met in person on December 16, 2000, were engaged on March 18, 2001 and Married August 4, 2001. When you are "old" you know what you are looking for!! We were married for 7 years before being blessed with baby #1, Josh, who is currently 5 years old and than baby #2, Nate, who is currently 4 years old. We also have some furry kids too - China is our sweet pooch whom we adopted in July 2003. She is a dignified mutt who loves to sleep . . and . . .sleep. (Couch potato!). Than we have Misty who is my cat. She is about 18 years old but still acts like she is a kitten. That's us :-)